Making your smoothies – well, smooth

There is nothing worse than a lumpy green smoothie – OK well I am sure that there are plenty of things that are worse – but a lumpy green smoothie, with stringy bits of vegetables in it, is pretty bad.

In fact it I think it is those lumpy, stringy bits found in so many ill made green smoothies that probably put a lot of people off these inherently healthy and delicious drinks.

But please don’t let potential lumps and bits put you off – they really don’t need to be there. There are plenty of tricks to making sure your smoothies are just that… smooth.

Starting with the basics.

Cut ingredients small

Although you don’t need to concisely, micro-chop your fruit and veg if you cut them into smallish, rather than largish pieces you will find that your blender whizzes through them much more happily. Not only will you end up with a smoother blend, but the motor on your blender will thank you too.

Mind the order

The order in which you place your fruit and veg can also factor into the ultimate texture of your healthy blend. A great trick is to put the greens in at the bottom of your blender. Or at least, the bit that is closest to the blade. If you are using a nutribullet style blender (like the Nutri Force Extractor I talk about below) this means your greens would go in last. This helps to get the greens chopped up as finely as possible so that they just melt away into your drink. You won’t even notice they are there, except for the massive boost in energy that you will get after drinking all that green goodness.

Adding your liquids to the blender before adding any other ingredients at all can also help to get things moving and your blender working at its best.

Use frozen fruit

Using frozen fruits in your smoothie also is a really easy way to make your smoothies thicker and creamier. I like to use frozen mango, frozen banana and frozen berries. You can buy ready frozen, or freeze your own – cut up fresh fruit into small chunks then freeze them on a cookie sheet for a few hours before popping them in a ziplock bag.

Use a good blender

Now of course the easiest way to get a super smooth, smoothie is to start with a great blender. This can get expensive. Your top of the line blenders can get up there near the $1000 mark. The goods news is that there are some fantastic options that won’t cost you the earth but will definitely do the trick.

Froothie have just come out with their new Optimum NutriForce Extractor. And it is fantastic. Currently priced at $189 it is much more economical than a fancy big blender but has the power to do much of the same work. It not only looks smart (see pic below) but it comes with two jugs (450ml and 1L) as well as two blade attachments, one to blend and one to grind. And unlike similar products on the market it has simple one touch buttons, a high and low speed as well as the ability to pulse. This makes the blender really versatile and fantastic for every day use.

I have used mine already for a range of recipes – smoothies, nut cheeses, and sauces – all with great success. But you could also use it to grind seeds, nuts and grains, to make nut butters, soups, hummus, ice creams and nut milks. You can even use it to crush ice. Pretty much if it needs to be blended or ground you can do it with this handy little machine.

Besides price, there are a couple of other great benefits that the Optimum NutriForce Extractor has over larger blenders. Firstly, it is nice and compact and with its sleek look can easily be left out on the kitchen bench for every day use – which I highly recommend as an excellent reminder for you to make your energizing green smoothies. Secondly it allows you to make much smaller batches of recipes in its smaller jug, making it more versatile for making sauces, cheeses and butters because you don’t have to use such large quantities of ingredients to get it to mix smoothly and consistently. This is a huge plus.

So if you are looking to up the amount of healthy goodness in your life and are in the market for a blender check out this new offering from Froothie – it will do everything you need it to do and a lot more. Hey and don’t forget – Christmas is just around the corner. The NutriForce Extractor would be an excellent addition to your Christmas list or would make a fantastic present for anyone into healthy living, or who you think might benefit from a health boost.

Here are a couple of tasty recipes I have already tried out with my new blender to get your started.

Get up and Go Smoothie

This smoothie makes an excellent start to your day. It’s filling and nutritious and will put an extra spring in your step.

2 cups leafy greens

1 small beetroot

1 ripe banana

1 cup of frozen blueberries

1 orange

1 tablespoon macca powder (optional)

2 tablespoon hemp seeds (optional)

Place all the ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth.

Easy Cashew “cheez” Sauce

This is one of my favourite vegan ‘cheese’ recipes as it is really tasty and incredibly versatile. You can use it to make mac and cheese, as a topping for baked potatoes or even on pizza.

1 cup cashews (soaked in warm water for at least 30 minutes)

1/4 cup water

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

black pepper to taste

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (optional – but extra tasty!)

Put all the ingredients together in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy.